|
|
SUNDAY MORNING from the pastor November 17, 2002 The sky has quietly and stealthily swelled into THE story of the new day. Its gentle pastel blue and gray calms the soul. With barren trees now merely etchings in the foreground, the sky is more in our face these days. I have a bowl of tomatoes on the counter--18 of them--picked just before the last frost. The vine in the backyard is now brown and shriveled. But the tomatoes continue to surprise in the bowl. I have three reds, three yellows, and a dozen small greens still holding back. I notice my eyes constantly darting back and forth between the parent plant and the very much alive fruit. It is a peaceful morning, in contrast to last night’s football game at the stadium. Between the Illini and the Bears, Memorial Stadium has become a place of last minute heartbreak this fall. It makes the pastel sky and peaceful new day all the more welcoming. It is now 7 a.m. and I see a few snow flurries out the window--the first I have seen this season. They just seem to float harmlessly and peacefully out of the big sky--a reminder that the day is about to burst with new, unexpected blessings and twists. Today is our church conference. In the old days, it used to be called the "Fourth Quarterly Conference." The implication of that name was that the leaders of each congregation met once a quarter to tend to ‘business.’ And for the fourth meeting, a ‘presiding elder,’ appointed by the bishop, would attend the meeting and preside. (In the Methodist tradition, an ‘elder’ is an ordained pastor. In the old days, we used to call our District Superintendents ‘presiding elders.’) The reason the presiding elder came around each fall for the fourth quarterly conference was to make sure the Methodists were being Methodists and doing what Methodists were supposed to do. As a church, we are supposed to be reforming individuals, reforming the church, and reforming the society around us. As individuals, we are supposed to be doing all the good we can, be resisting evil in whatever guise it presents itself, practicing personal works of piety, and performing personal acts of charity. These days, perhaps unfortunately, the charge conference has degenerated into a perfunctory business meeting. Reports are received, making sure the buildings have adequate insurance and the books are adequately audited. Members who have become inactive are pruned from the official rolls in order to help lower the church’s apportionments. Pastoral salaries are set and appropriate motions made in order to comply with IRS regulations. Officers and committees are formally elected for the coming year. Apportionments are announced, and the church once again reminded of its obligations to conference officials for the coming year. I don’t know if the past was ever as romantic as it sounds. But I do believe we have a grand heritage, and I believe in being inspired by that heritage. And while what we do at the charge conference IS important, perhaps even more important is our commitment to transformation--into a church that is truly being reformed, by individuals reformed, for the sake of a reformed world around us. --Mike |
